Shoddy Knockoff Product: Difference between revisions

* A confectionery company in the Philippines called Columbia Food Products came up with their own malt drink named "Chocquick" in 2005. It wasn't before long that Nestle took umbrage and [https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/dec/1248188.htm sued Columbia] for trademark infringement, as the packaging bore a [https://www.reddit.com/r/crappyoffbrands/comments/ga2ztx/when_you_piss_off_nestle_more_than_once/ suspicious resemblance] to [[wikipedia:Milo (drink)|Milo]], most especially the green, gold and white colour scheme and the logo itself, though in the case of Chocquik Columbia used a Spencerian script similar to Columbia's corporate logo. It also didn't help that the brand name is similar to Nestle's other chocolate drink product Nesquik. Boxes of Chocquik were [https://www.philstar.com/metro/2006/04/09/330604/p8-million-worth-instant-chocolate-drink-seized seized] following a search warrant, though the case was [https://www.philstar.com/business/2006/07/01/344828/more-infamous-145chocolate-battle146 eventually dismissed] in favour of Columbia, concluding that "this jurisdiction finds that there is no probably cause that Columbia’s Chocquik products constitute an infringement on Nestle’s trademarks or an act of unfair competition" and Nestle didn't have any exclusive rights to the colour scheme used in Milo.

* Like Khyber Pass in Pakistan, the city of Danao in Cebu, Philippines gained a notoriety for its cottage industry of backyard gunsmiths producing replicas of .38 caliber revolvers and Colt 1911s using scraps such as angle irons commonly used as construction materials. Despite appearing to be well made, with some examples even bearing markings taken from American firearms, they are otherwise reported to be of poor quality, lacking rifling and are deemed to be more dangerous to the ''shooter'' than ''their target'', no thanks to the fact that these "paltik" guns as they are known locally are made using basic tools such as files and hacksaws, with checks for accuracy being rudimentary at best. A number of these guns are [https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/667019/illegal-paltik-gun-making-industry-thrives-in-danao-cebu/story/ unfortunately been in use] by street gangs and drug fiends in gang wars and drug deals, though according to local gunsmiths in Danao, despite their seedy reputation they had no other choice but to [[I Did What I Had to Do|continue doing what they do best]] for decades as it helped them put food on their table, even if it meant either living under constant fear of police raids or the equally constant guilt of having someone killed using the firearms they made. There has been some efforts at legitimising the firearms industry in Danao, though, and one such gunsmith has petitioned [[Rodrigo Duterte]]–whose father's family is from Danao and whose cousin is currently serving as its mayor–to help legalise the gun-making industry in Danao and thus curb the spread of loose firearms through regulation.

* The Swiss-owned discount chain [https://www.dali.ph/ Dali] gained a bit of notoriety in the Philippines--its initial target market--for thinly-veiled [https://www.dali.ph/copy-of-how-we-work store-brand versions] of household products popular in the country such as "Grandiosa" bread (a dig on the popular Gardenia loaf bread) and "[https://www.reddit.com/r/crappyoffbrands/comments/v5pv7v/i_found_this_nutella_offbrand_on_dali_everyday/ Go Nutt]" which is not quite Nutella.